The present invention relates to a projector, such as a liquid crystal projector and a digital micromirror device (DMD) projector, that projects an image based on a video signal on a screen, a network system including a projector, and a method of controlling a projector on a network system.
A projector is capable of displaying a large image, so it is frequently used for a presentation in a conference, a meeting for reading research papers, a new product announcement, and the like. Further, a projector is often used to display an image based on a signal sent from a personal computer (PC) recently. For instance, Japanese Patent Kokai (laid-open) Publication No. 05-289046 discloses a system including one projector and two PCs that are connected to each other through a cable, wherein the projector is capable of displaying an image based on a signal sent from the PCs.
However, there are many users of projectors who are not acquainted with a network system, so it is difficult for them to construct a network system.
For instance, procedures for constructing a network system include (a) preparing a hub for star-connecting network terminal devices such as a PC and the like, (b) inserting a power cable plug of the hub into an AC wall socket, (c) connecting the projector with the hub using a communication cable (for instance, a LAN cable), and (d) connecting PCs (including a presenter's PC and audiences' PCs) with the hub using a communication cable (for instance, a LAN cable). These must be done at the users' (i.e., presenters' and audiences') first visited place (for example, on a platform of a hall or a conference room of a customer's company) and must be completed so as to be in time for a scheduled presentation. Therefore, there are strong needs of the users for a projector that can make it easy to construct a network system.